2025-10-12 23:12

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Chief financial officers at major British companies are the most worried about competitiveness and productivity in at least 11 years, according to a survey that echoed other measures of corporate concern ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget. The survey, published by accountancy firm Deloitte on Monday, did show geopolitical concerns had eased from earlier in 2025 after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed a string of bilateral trade deals to soften the impact of his import tariffs. Sign up here. But the worries about competitiveness and productivity in the July-to-September period were the highest since Deloitte began asking CFOs about them in 2014 and now rank on a par with concerns about geopolitics. The Bank of England expects inflation hit 4% in September - double its target and the highest among major rich economies - while annual wage growth, though slowing, remains much higher than its pre-pandemic pace at nearly 5%. "CFOs have responded by strengthening balance sheets through a focus on cost control, building cash reserves, and reducing debt," Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte UK, said. The survey did not ask specifically about tax policies. These have become a big worry for employers after they were hit by an increase in social security contributions in Reeves' first budget last year, according to other business surveys. Deloitte found a net 84% of finance leaders expected operating costs to rise over the next 12 months, the highest level in more than four years. Reeves is expected to raise taxes again on November 26 as she tries to stay on track to meet her targets for improving the public finances. Deloitte's survey was conducted between September 17 and September 30. Of the 68 participating CFOs, 11 were from FTSE 100 companies and 24 from FTSE 250 companies, while others were from the British subsidiaries of large multinational companies. Another report produced by rival accountancy firm BDO showed businesses delayed hiring in September due to rising costs and uncertainty ahead of November's budget. However, BDO's gauge of corporate optimism increased slightly on stronger order books and hopes of U.S. investment. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-cfos-worry-about-competitiveness-rising-costs-deloitte-says-2025-10-12/

2025-10-12 23:11

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves should use her budget in November to carry out a long overdue reform of the taxation system which could help her to raise more revenue while limiting the hit to the economy, a think tank said on Monday. The Institute for Fiscal Studies urged Reeves against simply raising the levels of existing taxes to bring in the extra money she needs - estimated at about 30 billion pounds ($40 billion)- to stay on course for her targets to repair the public finances. Sign up here. "The last thing we need in November is directionless tinkering and half-baked fixes," Isaac Delestre, a senior research economist at the IFS, said. "There is an opportunity here. The chancellor should use this budget to take real steps down the road towards a more rational tax system," Delestre said. Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have promised voters they will not raise the rates of social security contributions, value added tax or income tax on "working people" nor increase the main tax on company profits. After raising social security costs for employers last year, alternatives for Reeves in her next budget on November 26 include taxes on wealth and property. The IFS said changes to wealth-related taxes, including capital gains tax, would be more effective than the introduction of an annual wealth tax, as sought by some lawmakers in the governing Labour Party. On property, shifting the burden of local property taxation towards regions such as London which had seen faster house price growth in recent decades and scrapping the stamp duty tax on property acquisitions should be considered, the think tank said. Last week, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party said she favoured abolishing stamp tax. Another think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said on Friday that Reeves should break her promise not to raise taxes on working people rather than seek to raise revenue in more economically damaging ways. ($1 = 0.7536 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-reeves-should-use-budget-reform-tax-system-ifs-says-2025-10-12/

2025-10-12 21:24

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign minister accused Russia on Sunday of deliberately severing the external power line to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in order to link the plant to Moscow's power grid. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Moscow was attempting to test a reconnection to Russia's grid. Sign up here. Ukraine has long feared that Moscow would try to redirect the plant's output to its grid. But Russian officials have denied any intention of trying to restart the plant, seized by Moscow's forces in the early weeks of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces no electricity at the moment, but has been without an external electricity source for nearly three weeks. Officials have relied on emergency diesel generators to secure the power needed to keep the fuel cool inside the facility and guard against a meltdown. "Russia intentionally broke the plant’s connection with the Ukrainian grid in order to forcefully test reconnection with the Russian grid," Sybiha wrote on X in English. He denounced the "attempted theft of a peaceful Ukrainian nuclear facility". "Moscow tries to fool the IAEA and the whole technical and diplomatic community by pretending that the problem is caused by anyone other than itself," Sybiha said. Each side has accused the other of shelling that caused the line outage. The IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said last week that the process of re-establishing the external link was underway and has repeatedly called on both sides to refrain from actions that compromise nuclear safety. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, that it was not in Russia's interests to restore security at the plant. He said the IAEA needed to establish "a clearer, more honest position". There was no immediate Russian reaction to the Ukrainian allegations. Last week, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying there were no grounds to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for now in the absence of an external power source. Before that report, Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom was quoted as saying it was preparing to restart the plant. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-accuses-russia-deliberately-severing-external-link-zaporizhzhia-plant-2025-10-12/

2025-10-12 17:02

MEXICO CITY, Oct 12 (Reuters) - At least 44 people were killed in Mexico after days of heavy rains and flooding, the government said on Sunday. Torrential rains from tropical storms Priscilla and Raymond triggered landslides and flooding across five states. Sign up here. There were 18 people killed in Veracruz state, 16 in Hidalgo, nine in Puebla and one in Queretaro, a government statement said. The government of President Claudia Sheinbaum was managing a response plan to support 139 affected towns. Photos posted by the Mexican military showed people being evacuated by soldiers using life rafts, homes that were flooded with mud and rescue workers trudging through waist-height waters through town streets. "We continue with attention to the emergency in Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro, and San Luis Potosí, in coordination with the governor and the governors, as well as various federal authorities. The National Emergency Committee is in permanent session," Sheinbaum said on X. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/least-44-people-dead-after-torrential-rains-mexico-2025-10-12/

2025-10-12 15:15

Vance says tax credits go to some deservedly Criticized health insurance fraud Democratic leader defends party's negotiation tactic WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Vice President JD Vance criticized Affordable Care Act tax credits on Sunday, labeling them vehicles for fraud and calling for regulatory reform, even as Democratic lawmakers seek to extend healthcare subsidies in the standoff over the government shutdown. "The tax credits go to some people deservedly, and we think the tax credits actually go to a lot of waste and fraud within the insurance industry. So we want to make sure that the tax credits go to the people who need them," Vance told CBS News' "Face the Nation." Sign up here. Vance's view contrasts with the stance of Senate Democrats who have used their legislative leverage for the past two weeks to withhold votes for a stopgap funding bill to reopen government. Most Democrats in the upper chamber have held out to push for a range of healthcare fixes such as a possible extension of enhanced insurance tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. The shutdown is nearing its third week. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have offered a short-term funding plan until November, and the party's leaders have said that healthcare negotiations can start after Democrats vote to reopen the government. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he was open to negotiations on healthcare policy, but only after the shutdown ends. "We also think that Obamacare gave the health insurance industry a lot of ridiculous regulation that if we cut out, we can give people access to better healthcare at a lower cost. That's what we're working on," Vance added on Sunday. More than 24 million Americans are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, meant for people who do not have access to insurance through their jobs. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday defended Democratic opposition to the spending bills ahead of the November 1 start of the annual enrollment period for federal healthcare plans. "You've got people who are facing dramatically increased healthcare costs because of the refusal of some of my friends on the other side of the aisle to even have a conversation about extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits," Jeffries said during a "Fox News Sunday" appearance. "That's not acceptable in this moment." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/vance-says-aca-credits-fuel-fraud-democrats-push-extension-end-shutdown-2025-10-12/

2025-10-12 13:06

MOSCOW, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday suspended until May a reduction in the fuel damper payment subsidy to oil refineries, Russian news agencies reported. The damper is a payment to refineries to encourage them to sell their product on the domestic market instead of exporting it for a higher price. Sign up here. According to a Kremlin decree published on Sunday, the fuel damper payment will be calculated without the inclusion of a deviation threshold for gasoline and diesel from October 1 to May 1. The decree also exempted from excise duty the production of winter fuel oil by means of mixing its other varieties with jet fuel outside oil refineries. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-suspends-reduction-damper-payment-subsidy-2025-10-12/